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Featherless Chickens
Overview In 2002, Israeli geneticist Avigdor Cahaner crossbred a broiler chicken and scaleless chickens to produce a featherless chicken (4). The chicken was cross bred in hopes of producing a more convenient and energy efficient chicken for farmers, however, there was a great controversy with the concept. Those that oppose the breeding claim the changes are likely to lower the quality of life for the chickens and have more risks than gains (1). Mechanism Featherless chickens occur naturally in nature due to mutations in their genes. The featherless trait in chickens is dictated by the scaleless gene (sc). The scaleless gene is recessive, so two copies would need to be present for the naked trait to be expressed. Cahaner created the sc/sc genotype seen in his new breed of naked chicken by breeding scaleless mutants with broiler chickens. When the chickens are cross bred, the new breed receive the large, fast growing, meat producing genes from the broiler chickens, while inheriting genes that eliminate the growth of feathers from the scaleless mutants (7). Use Cahaner produced a featherless breed in hopes to make poultry production more efficient. Without feathers, processing plants would save time and money because they would not have to pluck the chickens, which would also reduce pollution rates of feather and fat waste in water supplies (1, 2). Cahaner also hypothesized that raising featherless chickens would be more convenient for farms in warmer climates. Broiler chickens are very sensitive to heat and cannot grow to their full potential if they are too warm. Featherless chickens also produce a lot of body heat while they eat and digest, which can sometimes cause them to overheat. Therefore, farmers in warm climates are required to provide cooling systems to increase production capacity. The cooling systems can be very pricey, so eliminating the need for those purchases can save companies and farmers a large sum of money (3, 4). Featherless chickens are not sold commercially, however, Cahaner still breeds and studies them in Israel. The featherless chickens have shown to grow larger as well as leaner. When prepared, the meat does not taste any different than chickens grown with feathers. The lack of feathers allows the chickens to release body heat more efficiently and the absence of plucking has shown to save time and money. Overall, this has shown to be a promising idea, however, the ugly appearance and the potential violation of animal rights has prevented the process from becoming a normalcy (6). ] Controversy Animal activists have voiced their opinion about featherless chickens. They argue that chickens need their feathers for protection and mating. Without feathers, they are highly susceptible to parasites, mosquito attacks, sunburn, skin diseases, and temperature variations. Feathers are also needed for balance and protection during mating. The males need feathers on their wings for balance and the females need feathers to protect their skin against the male's claws and beak. Activists claim the cons outweigh the pros in this situation and they urge scientists not to mess with nature (2, 5). Resources 1. Bald Chicken 'Needs No Plucking'. BBC News 2. Featherless Chicken Creates a Flap. NewScientist. 3. Disputed Featherless Heat Resistant Broiler is a Natural Phenomenon by Aaron Priel, pdf. 4. Ready to Cook Featherless Chicken. Amusing Planet. 5. Chicken, Interrupted: In Praise of Feathers. Science Direct. 6. Israeli Scientists Breed Featherless Chicken. The Poultry Site. 7. Featherless GMO Chickens. Genes.